Hiram council approves Positive Pay, suspends water/sewer late fees and authorizes billing audit assistance

At its Sept. 10 meeting Hiram Village Council approved several finance and administrative measures intended to strengthen internal controls and provide temporary relief for utility customers.

Fiscal Officer Susan Skrovan-DeYoung presented monthly financial reports and asked Council to add Positive Pay protection for paper checks, matching the Village's ACH protections. Council approved the Positive Pay addition by a 6-0 voice vote and accepted the fiscal report by the same margin.

Council also approved the bills list (6-0) and passed Resolution 2024-31 accepting amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission and certifying necessary tax levies; council suspended rules and approved the resolution as an emergency by a 6-0 vote. The fiscal officer told Council the State Auditor's bi-annual audit will begin this month and that codified ordinance updates are ready pending solicitor review.

After an executive session, Council unanimously suspended late fees on water and sewer accounts through Dec. 31, 2024 and authorized the Village Administrator to develop payment plans for residents through the end of the year. Council also voted 6-0 to have Deborah Wordell assist the Village Administrator with the water/sewer billing audit.

Susan Skrovan-DeYoung provided a detailed fund-by-fund report through Aug. 31 showing revenue and expenditure percentages, noted a partial interfund transfer to the Fire Department Operations fund of $41,981.19, and explained that Middlefield Bank will correct an interest-posting issue so the September reconciliation will include two months of interest. She also reported two ACH receipts from the traffic enforcement vendor, Targeting And Solutions Limited, with gross payments of $5,900 and net receipts reported after processing fees.

The council directed staff to distribute materials related to the T2 Systems pay-to-park package ahead of the Sept. 25 public hearing and to accept community feedback before proceeding with implementation.